Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Too soon to think about taking off snowtires ?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
With the nice weather we have had this week in Ontario, it got me thinking of when I should switch from snow tires back to all season tires. I was thinking of switching them in early April.

I'ld be interested to know when do most tesla owners switch back to their summer/all season tires.
I have heard winter tires perform best at -7 or below.
 
I switched in early April last year, but regretted it when I hit a big pothole and bent two 21" rims. (They can be hard to see at night...) Last year was really bad for potholes, and it took the city a while to fill them all in. The problem with these things is they start small and grow as cars keep hitting them, even without more water and freeze/thaw cycles.

That said, this year we didn't have a winter thaw, so there isn't a big pothole problem.

Playing it by ear.
 
I usually wait until at least the end of March. We usually get a wallop of snow late March and sometimes early April, but it doesn't last long. Thanks for the reminder, though. I do my seasonal switchover myself at home, but want to take my summer set in to Kal Tire to have them re-balanced. Think I'll do that this weekend so that I'm ready.
 
I usually book now for an appointment for 4 weeks down the road...that way, I am sure to get the tires switched when I want it done...not have to wait due to a mad rush of folks wanting their tires switched asap...

Good point if you're not doing it yourself. Last fall, I snapped a couple of lug nuts off my wife's car when removing the summers and trying to find a shop to fix it (I don't have the tools to pull drums and rotors) was a nightmare with everyone else scheduled in for tire changeovers! Don't just expect to show up on the first nice warm day of spring, or after the first snowfall in autumn.
 
Usually snapping off lugs is caused by the monkeys at the tire shop massively overtightening them. In the case of Model S lugs, hammering on them with an impact gun will also destroy them. It causes them to distort. If you can't get the proper size socket on them, that is what happened to them.

Last fall I swapped wheels for another local Model S owner who couldn't get an appointment before the first snowstorm. The shop that had installed his wheels for the summer (who will remain unnamed Frisby), had obviously pounded his lugs on with an impact. I had to use the next-size-up socket because they were distorted, and some of the nuts needed well over 200 ft-lbs to break them loose. I advised him to get new lug nuts. Fortunately his winter wheels had their own lug nuts so it wasn't a big hurry.

Even a reputable shop can do this to you, despite best intentions. When you hire minimum wage staff you don't always get enthusiastic workers. Best to go to Tesla or do it yourself, IMHO. Or stand there and watch them to make sure they use a torque wrench.
 
I took an appointment with Tesla Montreal for the Wednesday before the long weekend to install my refurbished 21" wheels (mount new PS2 tires with new TPMSs) and to perform the annual service. Luckily I was able to find a spot when I called 2 weeks ago.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

Doug, you bent TWO rims..wow! They keep saying this year will have less potholes, but I seem to be hitting more of them.
Jaff, good point about booking the appointment real early. I'll be getting the SC to do it (thinking the week after Easter) since they have my summer tires stored there.
 
Usually snapping off lugs is caused by the monkeys at the tire shop massively overtightening them. In the case of Model S lugs, hammering on them with an impact gun will also destroy them. It causes them to distort. If you can't get the proper size socket on them, that is what happened to them.

I think I talked about this in another thread, but I do change both my cars' wheels myself. I always hand tighten and torque to spec in a cross pattern with a good quality torque wrench. Last year on my wife's car I snapped 1 lug nut removing the summers and this past fall I broke 5 (!) lug nuts. To remove, I use a breaker bar and the proper size socket and apply even pressure. For some reason as I'm applying pressure the thing will just "pop" and the stud breaks off inside of the nut. It's extremely frustrating because I'm doing it correctly. I was always told to leave the studs "dry" but this time I'm going to apply some anti-seize to the threads before I re-mount the summers. When I had it repaired last fall, the shop re-mounted the winters after installing the new studs and had them lathered up pretty good with some silver colored (graphite?) compound.

No problem at all with the Model S wheels and nuts.
 
I just switched to my summers, after having bent the inside of a 19" rim on a *massive* pothole...only to find that the front rim was bent also! Happily the Nokian Hakka R2s survived unscathed.

I will also note that I would likely have missed the pothole, except that an unknown silver Tesla had appeared behind me at the highway exit, and I was distracted by those lovely headlights! Four other cars were waiting for AAA in the parking lot where I pulled off...it was some pothole.

I am guessing the silver Tesla missed it, as he never pulled over!
 
Recent practice that I've observed is they use an impact gun which is set modestly, enough to properly seat the rim into position. Then they set a torque wrench to the car's spec and then do the final tightening by hand with the torque wrench.

Just did a quick run of 2200 miles and only the 3 miles on my local road and driveway required the snow tires.
--
 
According to a U.S. agent at the Detroit/Windsor border, I should have installed All-Seasons before I left Quebec on March 7th for California.

Besides being unsafe, this also would have been illegal.

He asked why I was hauling an extra set of tires and I replied that it was to switch out the Winter tires upon arrival in California. In a mocking tone, he said I obviously would have changed tires before leaving if I wanted to ride on different ones.

His bizarre and uninformed opinion earned me a new form of ICEing where my car was searched and left with the windows down and hatch open during the time they ascertained that I was neither a criminal nor a smuggler.

On the other hand, I was waved through the agricultural check-point at the Cal/Nevada border. If you're worried about invasive species, wouldn't vehicles traveling from far away deserve more scrutiny? Perhaps they just saw a Tesla and assumed I was from California.
 
You can go on the SAAQ website and print yourself an exemption from the winter tire law. It's valid for seven days if you are leaving or entering the province. You get four freebies per year, just need your registration. Just make sure there's no crap weather on your route before leaving.